Driving and texting could turn into $2,000 ticket in Oregon

View full sizeWay back in 2009, when this photo was taken, it was still legal in Oregon to drive while talking on a cellphone. Now, anyone caught doing it can get up to a $500 fine. Lawmakers are considering two bills to up the ante, bringing the maximum fine up to $2,000.Don Ryan/The Associated Press

SALEM -- Texting behind the wheel could cost you up to $2,000 if Oregon lawmakers have their way.

Two bills in the Legislature would increase the maximum penalty for using a cellphone while driving, the highest profile effort among a number of legislative attempts to rewrite the rules of the road.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, says the rise of texting is causing dangerous distractions and has thrown his political weight behind the effort to increase the fines drivers face if caught with their hands on a phone.

"You don't have to drive much to see people texting," Courtney said. "It's everywhere. It's going on all the time. It's just unbelievable."

Accidents on Oregon roads involving cellphones peaked at 312 in 2009, the year lawmakers put a maximum $500 penalty on using a cellphone while driving. (Hands-free use was exempted.) The number of accidents initially dropped, but has been creeping up. In 2011, 269 accidents statewide involved a cellphone.

That's a small share of the average 45,000 auto accidents that occur each year. But Courtney said he introduced Senate Bill 9 in order to put some teeth in the 2009 law. It would increase the maximum penalty to $1,000 and direct the Department of Transportation to erect signs warning drivers of the law.

A tougher bill on the House side (House Bill 2790) would increase the maximum penalty to $2,000.

"If the penalties are great enough, then people will realize," Courtney said, "OK, you can get away with it and get away with it, but the one time you get caught the penalties will be very severe."

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3 to 2 in support of the bill Tuesday, with the committee's two Republicans voting against it. It now goes to the full Senate.

Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who works as a municipal prosecutor in Florence and chairs the committee, said most drivers wouldn't face the maximum fine, which is typically reserved for egregious cases or repeat offenders. Usually tickets bear a lower "presumptive fine." The current one for using a cellphone while driving is $110. Under Courtney's bill, it would increase to $260. Under the House measure, it would increase to $435.

Greenlick, who used to live in Portland's west hills, said his goal is to raise money to pay for the damage the tires cause, not to ban them outright. He sympathizes with drivers stuck on snowy passes.

"They ought to be able to get them, but they ought to pay for the damage that they cause," Greenlick said.

Greenlick introduced House Bill 2278, which would tax each tire by $10, but said he's focused on House Bill 2277, which requires studded tire owners to obtain a permit. The cost of the permit would be based on how much damage studded tires do to Oregon roadways each year. Rough figures suggest it could cost $100 per year, Greenlick said.

Not all the road bills are aimed at extracting fees. Sen. Ginny Burdick wants to amend state law to require slow-moving traffic to stay in the right lanes, leaving the left lane for passing. Currently, only "campers, trailers and trucks" are required to reserve the left lane for passing.

Burdick, D-Portland, introduced Senate Bill 511 in order to speed up traffic flow and improve safety.

"The far left lane is meant for passing," Burdick said. "And you have cars that get in that lane and just use it as a driving lane and it causes other drivers to make unsafe maneuvers to get around them."

Other vehicle-related legislation aims to improve safety. Senate Bill 527 requires motorists to turn their headlights on when their windshield wipers are active. Senate Bill 444 bans smoking in a car while children are present. Both concepts have been introduced in the Legislature before, but failed to pass.